This invention relates to a hand wearable glove used for drying one""s body and more specifically to a hand wearable glove made from an absorbent material that incorporates a concave squeegee for drying small body parts and a linear squeegee for drying larger flatter body parts.
Convenience is the driving force for many consumer purchases in the market these days. Any item that saves time or makes life easier for today""s overextended workers is a valuable commodity. Most people use at least one and typically two or more towels for drying themselves after a daily shower, and it isn""t uncommon for athletes, outdoorsmen and physical labors to take two or three showers a day. This results in the collection and laundering of a large quantity of bulky towels on a daily basis, which is a laborious task for today""s busy people. The present invention provides a convenient way of drying one""s body without the use of towels, thereby decreasing laundering time and making life easier. The present invention is a body squeegee that is used after a shower to dry one""s body. The body squeegee is a glove, made from absorbent material, which is worn on the hand of the user. The glove has two bands, one located between the thumb and forefinger that is concave allowing the band to fit snuggly against smaller body parts, and one located on the side of the pinky and hand that is linear allowing the band to easily wipe larger body parts. After the user dries their body, the glove is simply rinsed out with water, squeezed to eliminate the excess water, and dried by air or with a blow dryer.
In addition to decreasing laundering, this way of drying the body would be relaxing and soothing. The body squeegee would also prevent the pulling and rubbing of skin that results when drying one""s body with a towel; therefore, it may eliminate premature wrinkling of the skin. The body squeegee would also prevent rapid changes in body temperature, reducing the potential for catching a cold.
Other additional advantage to the body squeegee is that it is lightweight and compact, allowing it to be much more easily stored than a bulky towel. This is convenient when packing a suitcase for a trip or a gym bag for a daily workout. Not only is the body squeegee more convenient and healthful than towels, is saves energy and money due to reduced laundering.
Gloves for various functions have been available for many years. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,652 to Kuwahara, describes a mesh glove with an absorbing material on a front portion for wiping perspiration from the face and body of runners and exercisers; U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,154 to Cohn, III, describes a bathing glove with a shampoo shield for bathing infants and small children comprising a web member extending between the thumb receptacle and the finger receptacle adjacent to the thumb receptacle, where the web member is liquid impermeable and used for diverting water from the child""s face; and U.S. Pat No. 4,807,322 to Littledeer, describes a mitt with a squeegee for the removal of frost off the surface of a windshield. None of the gloves (or mitts) described above are directed towards drying one""s body with a glove that incorporates a unique squeegee system. The unique squeegee system is provided by two squeegee bands, first a concave squeegee band between the thumb and forefinger for drying small areas, and second a linear squeegee band on the outside of the pinky and along the length of the hand for drying larger areas.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a hand wearable glove that can wipe and absorb water from one""s body.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a hand wearable glove that is absorbent and that incorporates a concave squeegee band for drying smaller areas and a linear squeegee band for drying larger flatter areas.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a hand wearable glove that is easily cleaned and dried.
In accordance with these and other objects, the present invention is a hand wearable body squeegee comprising a glove portion, a concave squeegee band, and a linear squeegee band. The glove portion is formed to substantially conform to a human hand, and comprises a body with an opening for inserting a human hand, a forefinger sleeve, a thumb sleeve, and a pinky sleeve all attached to the body so as to allow insertion of a human hand. The concave squeegee band is formed to contour substantially along the surface area between the forefinger sleeve and the thumb sleeve of the glove portion. The linear squeegee band is formed along the surface area along the pinky sleeve and body towards the opening of the glove portion.
The glove portion may be constructed from water absorbent material called synthetic microporous PVA material, and the squeegee band may be constructed from rubber.
The glove further comprises two sleeves for a middle finger and a ring finger, wherein both sleeves are also attached to the body to allow each finger of a human hand to be inserted into an associated sleeve. In an alternative embodiment, the pinky sleeve, the ring finger sleeve, the middle finger sleeve, and the forefinger sleeve may be joined as one large sleeve to form a mitt.
An additional feature of the present invention is that the sleeves each contain at least one hole for drainage of water. The hole may be located in the area of the sleeve that covers the nail portion of a human hand, or at the end of the sleeve opposite the connection to the body.